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All Links Below Will Open In A New Window
Today's technologically advanced world affords a great number of opportunities - for both the honest and the dishonest - with that said, we feel compelled to provide a better understanding of what safeguards you when doing business with us. (One example of a credit card security breach.)
For a secure transmission, we use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL). The SSL is what applies the encryption between two connecting devices or applications, such as your personal computer or laptop (even PDA's and eventually cellphones) and our servers. When you submit information to us (transmit data), it is encrypted (or 'scrambled' and unreadable) on your end, then decrypted (or 'unscrambled') on our end. This is where the "128-bit encryption" comes into play. Utilizing this process (the highest available and generally, the industry standard) essentially means, *"It would take hundreds of years of main frame computer processing time to attempt to break these encryption codes, which are set up using random ciphers for each and every purchase. Your information is fully secure and your purchase protected, in fact your credit card details are held more secure than with the majority of off-line credit card transactions today." An off-line transaction would include telephone transactions, point of purchase transactions, etc.
Our company never has a customers credit card number on file electronically, because our credit card processing service is the one entrusted to safeguard that information. These services are provided by ECI-PAY. Additionally, we also employ a third party company to monitor ours and our server's vulnerabilities to electronic attacks. These services are provided by Security Metrics.
How do you know you have a secure connection? Look at your browser's address field. An unsecure connection (the type used when you're just surfing the internet, reading the news, checking sports scores, using a search engine, etcetera) will have this format, "http://www.AContrivedDomain.com", but if you're supposed to be "checking out" then the format should be, "https://www.AContrivedDomain.com" - it's the "S" that tells you the connection is "S"ecure. The browser, Internet Explorer, even displays an image of a closed or locked padlock in the lower right of your browser window (of course, this is dependent on which browser you use).
All in all, the credit card issuer and the credit card processor are the biggest targets of electronic attacks and thus remain the most vulnerable. Please feel free to explore the various links provided on this page (above and below) to better understand the many aspects of technology (and mathematics) at work on your behalf.
Recommended Reading:
128-bit Encryption via About.com
Definition of SSL via About.com
In Depth SSL Information via Wikipedia
Encryption Overview via Wikipedia
Definition of HTTPS via Google
Definition of HTTP via Google
*from our friends at All American Watches
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